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The Houses of the Oireachtas’ aim is to be a fully inclusive parliament, reflecting the diversity of the country we serve. If you are an elected member, an inperson or online visitor, or a member of staff, we aim to provide you with a parliamentary experience that is founded on the principals of openness and inclusion.
With Members, visitors and members of staff, we aim to provide a parliamentary experience founded on the principles of openness and inclusion.
A culture of inclusivity
Creating a culture of inclusivity is everyone’s responsibility across the organisation.
We also know that focusing on specific programmes and projects can be an important way of ensuring the diversity of our country is reflected in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
We are especially proud of two of our projects
- The OWL Programme
- An autism-friendly Parliament.
Having these two projects at the centre of Parliament shows how proactive we are in developing new and innovative inclusive practices.
OWL programme
The Oireachtas Work Learning (OWL) programme is an applied learning, development and socialisation programme for young adults with an intellectual disability.
We are autism-friendly
Achieving accreditation as an autism-friendly workplace was a positive step towards making the physical and sensory environment in Leinster House accessible to all.
Irish Sign Language (ISL)
Explore how our use of Irish Sign Language improves accessibility and opens parliamentary business in Leinster House to more people than ever before.
Pride + Parliament
The Oireachtas has played a key role in legislating for equality within Irish society, including the rights of the LGBT+ community.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
We launched our very first EDI strategy in 2024 and are currently developing our strategy for the period 2025 to 2027 one, seeking to build on our successes.
Key people in our work towards equality, diversity and inclusion
- Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) officer
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Our EDI officer, Roisin Deery, identifies actions to be taken to address inequality on any of the grounds set out in the Employment Equality Act 1998-2015 of age, race, sexual orientation, disability, religion, civil status, gender, membership of the Traveller community, civil status and family status. The EDI officer supports the work of the Houses of the Oireachtas to meet its obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. The EDI officer works with the access officer and disability liaison officer to support their roles.
- Access officer
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Our access officer, Michael O'Brien, is on hand to arrange assistance and guidance to people with disabilities who wish to access our services or visit Leinster House. The access officer is available in accordance with section 26(2) of the Disability Act 2005.
- Disability liaison officer (DLO)
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Our disability liaison officer (DLO), Anne Quinlan, acts as the point of contact for staff with disabilities, their managers and personnel units. She assists and supports staff with disabilities, in confidence, and their line managers by providing necessary information, appropriate contacts, guidance, suggestions and advice. She also assists in the implementation of best human resource practices in line with equality legislation and facilitates increased awareness of disability throughout the organisation.
- Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreters
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During 2020 the Houses of the Oireachtas recruited two experienced ISL interpreters to carry out a number of tasks, including, but not limited to, interpreting content for Oireachtas TV, interpreting live debates in the Houses and Committees and supporting deaf visitors to the Houses and deaf staff members.
- Oireachtas TV access liaison officer
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As a national broadcaster, Oireachtas TV adheres to access rules agreed with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland regarding the levels of subtitling within our programmes. Our Oireachtas TV access liaison officer, Tim Clare, is on hand to answer questions about our ISL or subtitled programming.
Contact us
Human Resources Unit
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin
D02 XR20